Samsung ATIV S gets pushed back to December

Yesterday we commented how Samsung appears to be late to the Windows Phone 8 train with their ATIV S smartphone. While not as visually eye-catching as HTC or Nokia's offerings, the device has strong appeal to the smartphone traditionalists out there or just those who want every high spec tossed into a phone. Sporting a 4.8" display, 32GB of onboard storage (with an expansion card option), dual-core 1.5Ghz CPU, a massive 2300 mAh battery and a slick, metal finish, the phone has its fans.

Unfortunately, we just received direct word that Expansys is pushing back expected availability from November to the week of December 4th. That reinforces our hypothesis that Samsung is either having some production delays or software hiccups, which is preventing them from getting this phone into customer hands. And if Expansys is expecting delays, you can bet carriers like Rogers will too.

While that won't matter too much for the off-contract people, it seems to have affected carriers who so far have been gun-shy in s supporting the ATIV S. To date, no US carrier has announced this phone, which is most shocking for AT&T who has been a big supporter of Samsung Windows Phones in the past.

Having said that, we wouldn't be surprised to see some late-carrier additions of this phone when Samsung gets it together.

Reader comments

Samsung ATIV S gets pushed back to December

I was on the brink of getting a 920. But I think I'll wait another month and see what Samsung does with the ativ s. Hope it comes to att with additional colors. Wouldn't mind a white one. Til then im content with my 900.

Still cheering for a good launch. While I am sure we would prefer it sooner, it the grand scheme of things... Who cares when it is launched? There are going to be more WP 8 devices coming, so Sammy is fine releasing when it is ready. Just support it.

Sucks to hear this hasn't been announced for any US carrier. This was my dream WP8 device. Alas, I couldn't wait and I went with the 820. Screen isn't exactly what I would like. But I was sold on the expandable memory. Sweet phone so far

I do wish people with quit ragging on each other about their phone choice. Who cares?! You get what you want, I'll get what I want, and we will both be happy rocking our WP8 devices. Isn't that what really matters?! Choices, options, competition...user WINS! What I have is not for everyone, isn't that kind of the point?!

I would have bought this had it come out simultaneously/within a couple weeks of the Lumia 920 on AT&T. I like the larger screen and microSD slot. Unfortunately (though fortunately for Nokia) the Lumia 920 came out far earlier so I just bought that.

I think it's equally as good looking as the 920. 32 gigs with expandable storage is a nice option. I don't really see what Nokia has to offer that's so great. Other than great low light photos and image stabilaztion.

I have the Lumia 920 and I'm not too impressed with the battery life. I think the Ativ S is a great phone just like the Galaxy S3 is a great phone. Obviously a lot of people like the S3 as shown by the sales. A Windows 8 version would aslo be great with the 4.8 screen, super light, and probably better battery life.

I do like the larger screen that's really the only thing holding me back from getting the 920 just yet. Having been using the titan 2 size does matter to me but that 920 is really nice looking. I just want to see the ativ first then I'll make my choice that's if at&t gets it of course.

32 GB with memory card for expansion and removable cover to battery replacement makes it the only windows(high-end) phone in the market.
I am definitely interested in it.
ofcourse the big screen is an added bonus..just dont want this to be pentile.

What do you think - Galaxy S III selling so well that they're using all available capacity/parts to make as many as they can? That would make sense as to why this device, which shares things like the screen with the GSIII, would be pushed back.

I love what you said. EVERY HIGH SPEC TOSSED INTO 1 PHONE. My thoughts exactly. It might not be the most glamorous looking but it has it all under the hood. This is why it's hands down not even close my choice. Now if Samsung can just find the factory lines to produce them in bulk. It's kinda hard when they can't even keep up with the GIII demand.

As much as I loved my Focus I just don't love the new phones. They are ugly and the specs can't make up for it. This article reminds me of Chris Weber's (Nokia exec) tweet calling out Samsung that their phone would hit first and hit hard.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. So you think it's ugly. Well 30 million people in 5 months bought the GSIII. We all know these are sister phones. With the ATIV S being the sexy one. A lot of adults don't want a teenager looking phone. My opinion is this phone will dominate sells when it arrives.

I don't see any way in which the ATIV-S is ugly... and I LOVE the physical Windows button - I just wish there were also physical buttons for Search and Back, since I accidentally brush my hand against them all the time on my Arrive...

You might be pleasantly surprised with the difference on this one Samsung compared to HTC's initial go around. It strikes a good balance...I only wish they'd kept the Focus brand or started this ATIV earlier for continuity ! =/

Same with my wife and me. Our LG Quantums are still going strong and as soon as we start typing anything more than a few words, we subconsciously slide out the keyboard 'cuz it's so much faster and less error-prone. There also used to be some games that used the keyboard keys as controllers, so you didn't cover up the screens with your hands, or miss the virtual joysticks etc. Disappointing to have to give them up to keep up with the WP8. That being said, since both my wife and I are having battery issues or have had to remove the battery to restart our phones so having a phone with a user-replaceable battery like the ATIV S is appealing.

I went to the ATT store to see if they had the L920 in the store and to my surprise, they had the L920(white, red, black), the 8X(blue, black), and the 820(black). I also took a buddy of mine who is an iphone user on VZW; well he ended up purchasing a red L920, to my surprise, the L920 is much lighter and does seem hefty at all, it simply beautiful. BTW the black tiles are superb....you find that along with increasing the font size under ease of access along with a few other things. All of the phones are good, but my buddy choose the L920 over the 8X on looks alone and he even liked the 820 better than the 8X. I am so jealous right now, because two of my friends have it already and I don't (Can't afford it right now because I had new flooring installed last weekend).....THIS SUCKS

I carry my phone in my shirt pocket, the Lumia's slip out as soon as you manipulate a low laying object, the 8X kind of sticks in there much longer. Then the audio, screen and weight, I prefer a top mounted power button. Oh and the 8X is very easy to hold well. Less slippy. And it is made in Taiwan R.O.C., not mainland China... Taiwan makes better stuff in my experience.

Because the 920 just isn't the best phone for everyone. It's major intrigue? Camera. It looks murky and dark, and the pictures aren't the clearest all the time. The amount of onboard and expandable memory is nowhere near the tops. And the 8X? Mostly used for music with beats audio. Honestly, I think the ATIV S/ATIV Odyssey are the best.